Thousands of people attended the 44th annual Grand River “Champion of Champions” Powwow at the Ohsweken Speedway on Sunday, July 28, 2024.
The event has been running yearly on the fourth full weekend of July since 1980 apart from the two years canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year marks 44 years since the event began.
Hosted by First Nations communities, Powwow’s are social celebrations showcasing centuries of diverse Indigenous cultures with pride and respect.
“This weekend is all about beautiful music, vibrant colours, and awesome dancing,” said Charlene Bomberry, Chair of the Champion of Champions Powwow. “It’s a huge competition with dancers from all over North America.”
This year, around 500 men and women were registered for the weekend’s dance competitions as they competed for prize money in several categories.
From golden age to elders, seniors, juniors and the tiny tots, dancers of all ages came out to proudly showcase their culture.
“Our tiny tots are exhibiting this weekend but anyone aged six and up are officially a part of the competition,” said Bomberry. “We have everybody sectioned into different age groups as well as different styles of dancing; The females are competing in traditional, jingle and fancy dances, and then the males are doing traditional, grass and fancy dances. We have about 332 dancers registered for the Powwow section and about 120 registered for the Smoke Dance, and the Smoke dance is more specific to our Haudenosaunee community in Six Nations.”
Several singing drum groups were also present this year with Black Bear as the Host (lead) drum. Burning Plains, Little Creek, Under the Pines and Charging Horse were also in attendance for song rotations and contests.
Apart from the various competitions, hoop demonstrations, guest singers and dancers, and the artisan market, another large part of this weekend’s event was the Grand Entry ceremonies.
Dressed in intricate and colourful traditional regalia, dancers made their way into the arena together as Black Bear led the drum rotation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, these are sovereign nations of these lands and territories that are still here and still living life to the fullest,” said Dennis Bowen, Co-MC of the Champions of Champions Powwow. “You see the pride and you see the beauty, so let’s give them a round of applause.”
Leading the way, Head Veteran Wilson Roberts, carried in the Eagle Staff alongside the Six Nations Veterans Association and Colour Guards. Head Dancers, Beedoskah Stonefish and Desmond Madera followed the procession with the nearly 500 dancers behind them.
The weekend’s competitions took place throughout Saturday and into Sunday before the Champion of Champions winners were crowned on Sunday evening.
Aside from the powerful singers and dancers, the powwow also showcased over 30 food vendors, as well as 100 craft artisans and information booths on site.
Bomberry said that while the overall competition is always wonderful, listening to singers is always one of her favourite parts of the weekend.
“I love listening to the singers, they’re just so good and it’s always incredible,” she said. “ The dancers are wonderful but hearing the singers gets to you in a special way.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
